myers



(No Model.) I I .2.Sheets-.Sheet 1A H. MYERS.

y MMM-PLOW. No. 357,963. Patented Felb.15, 1887.

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(N0 Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. MYERS.

ROTARY PLOW. I

Patented Feb, 15, 1887..

V .Bj his {Leia-rive UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I-IIRAM MYERS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN A. BLOUNI, OF

SAME PLACE.

ROTARY PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.357,963, dated February15, 1887.

Application filed May Q4, 1884. Serial No. 132,721.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, HIRAM MYERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Flows, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary plows; and the objects of my inventionare, first, to provide a simple, strong, and durable frame adapted tosupport the revolving cutters firmly in their places without passing therear of said cutters; second, to provide a simple means for attachingand supporting the guide-wheel; third, to provide for leveling up theframe, thereby adj usting the front and rear cutters to an equal depthof cut; and, fourth, to provide for an additional adjustment of thecranks which serve to raise and lower the cutters.

My invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts,hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a plan view of a rotary plow embodying my invention, one ofthe rotary cutters being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a side elevationview of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the frame in detail.Fig. 4 is a view showing the manner of supporting the tongue. Fig. 5 isa front elevation View of the adjustable crank. Fig. 6 is a sectionalview of the same, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of a modified form of frame.

Like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference throughout theseveral views.

The rotary cutters A and A, of which two are preferably used, arejournaled at the front and rear of thecarrying-wheels B B. These cuttersare set at an angle to the line of draft, and are adapted to turn freelyon their axles as the plow is drawn forward to accomplish the plowing inthe usual manner.

In order that the cutters may run as freely as possible, and to preventthem from becoming choked or clogged by stalks or weeds, it is desirablethat the frame which supports the cutters be so constructed that thecutters will be left perfectly clear at the rear to permit the soil and.dbris which may be distributed (No model.)

thereon to be freely discharged from the cut- 5o ters. To accomplishthis I construct the frame in such a manner that it will not at anypoint pass around the cutter at the rear, the rear or discharge portionof the cutter being thus perfectly clear and open. In constructing theframe in this manner I employ two pieces, a and b, and connect saidpieces together by a connecting-piece at right angles to the plane ofthe cutter and journal the cutter on said connecting-piece. These sidepieces, a and b, 6o (see Fig. 3 for detaiL) are, at the middle portion,preferably made parallel with the plane of the carrying-wheels. Thepiece a for a short dist-ance at the front runs parallel with the planeof the cutters and then extends forward parallel with the line of draftto forni the draftconnection c. The piece b at the front is bent overand crosses the piece a at right angles to the plane of the cutters, andprojects out beyond the piece a sufliciently to form a bearing, 7o d,for the front cutter, A, which is journaled thereon. The pieces a and bat the rear are preferably bent and extended parallel to the plane ofthe cutters at a distance apart about equal to the length of the hub ofthe cutters. The rear ends of the frame-pieces a and b, thus extended,are then connected together by a connecting shaft or piece, e, at rightangles to the plane of the cutters, said shaft e forming the axle onwhich is journaled the rear cutter, A.

lIhe journals d and c of the cutters are respectively provided withcollars d and c', preferably welded or otherwise secured on saidjournals. These collars serve as bearings for the inner ends of therespective cutter-hubs and resist the tendency of the cutter to movelongitudinally on the shaft, caused by the for ward movement of the plowat an angle to the plane ofthe cutters. The frame-piece a, where it iscrossed by the forward end of piece b, may be formed with a depressionto receive said piece b, thus bringing the said piece in the samehorizontal plane, a cap, f, being secured over said piece b to hold itin place. The piece a at the rear end is preferably enlarged andprovided with a hole large enough to receive the end of the shaft e,which projects through said piece a. The piece b may be formed with adepression surmounted by a cap, f', to receive the other end of saidshaft. The shaft e may be secured in the respective sidejpieces, c I),and prevented from turning there by means of pins h l1, or in any othersuitable manner.

In order to bring the draft more directly on the two frame-pieces a b,and thus more evenly on the 'front and rear cutters, A A', I provide abrace-rod, fi, which extends from the forward end of the piece a to thepoint in the piece b, where it turns to cross the piece a.

rIo prevent the plow from running into the land I employ'the guide-wheelC, which takes the placeI of the landside on the ordinary dragplows. Inorder to obtain a simple, compact, and strong construction,I attach thesaid guidewheel C directly to the axle e. For this purpose the axle e isextended through the fram epiece b and bent so as to project at rightangles to the line of draft. A serrated collar, 7c, is secured rigidlyon said projecting portion and an adjustable arm, Z, by which theguide-wheel is supported, is placed loosely thereon. rI'he upper end ofsaid adjustable arm is provided with a serrated face corresponding tothe serrations in the collar 7c. A nut, m, on the end of the shaft eserves to bind these serrated faces tightly together, and thus hold thearm k securely in any position of adjustment.

The rotary cutters, as before stated, are placed in front and rear ofthe carrying-wheels. Now, in order that the cutters may be regulated toan equal depth of cut and level up the plow, it is essential that meansbe provided for varying the vertical angle between the draft rod ortongue and the plow-frame. I preferably accomplish this by providingnear the front of the frame a supporting-arm, n, ou which the tongue Drests, and extending the tongue back to near the center of theplowframe, the rear end of the tongue beingsecured between two verticalstandards,o o. The standards are secured in a suitable manner to theframe, and are each provided with a corresponding series of holesadapted to receive a bolt, p, which extends through the rear end of thetongue.

The tongue D is attached to the supportingarm n in such a manner that itis capable of a slight oscillation thereon to compensate for thevertical adjustment of the rear end of the tongue. The supporting-arm nis made long enough to permit of a lateral movement of the tonguethereon, the tongue being held against such lateral movement byabrace,r,which extendsfrom the side of the tongue to the frame. Thisbrace is secured at its rear end to the frame by a single bolt, 1, whichpasses through a slotted hole, r2, in said brace. This slotted hole r2permits of a longitudinal movement of the brace r, and thus furnishesthe means of securing a lateral adjustment of the tongue for the purposeof securing the proper line of draft. To prevent the tongue from beingcramped at the rear end by the lateral adjustment, the tongue should bemade to fit loosely between the vertical standards o o, or the innerfaces of said standards rounded slightly. The hole in the tongue throughwhich the bolt p passes should also be slightly elongated.

The cutters may be raised or lowered in passing obstacles or in movingfrom one place to another by means of the hand -levers E. Thesehand-levers are attached to crank-arms F F,which are journaled on ahorizontal shaft, G, extending transversely across the plowframe, thecarrying-wheels being journaled on bearing-pins in the lower end of saidarms in the usual manner.

In order that the cutter may be easily raisedv while plowing, it isdesirable that the cranks which are attached to the hand-levers be asshort as possible to obtain the desired leverage. While the plow is inoperation it will only be necessary to raise the cutters to the surfaceof the ground, but when transporting it along the roads the cuttersshould be raised some inches higher. For this reason I use a crank orcranks adapted to be lengthened or shortened, thereby providing themeans for obtaining the increased leverage while the plow is in thefield, which may be adj usted to raise the cutters a greater distancefrom the ground when on the road. To provide for this adjustment I makethe crank F adjustable, so that it may be lengthened or shortened atwill. The main part or body of the crank is made in the nature of acircular disk or wheel, s. (See Figs. 5 and 6 for detail.) This wheel sis j ournaled on the shaft, and to it is rigidly secured the hand-leverE. Across the face of the wheel I provide a shallow slot or recessadapted to receive asliding arm, s. The sliding arm carries the stud onwhich the carrying-wheel Bis j ournaled, and is provided with alongitudinal slot, through which the screwthreaded end of the said shaftprojects. The bottom of the recess or slot is preferably provided with aseries of seri-ations, as is also the under side of the sliding arm. Anut, s2, on the threaded end of the shaft serves to press the slidingarm against the serration, and thus hold it in any position ofadjustment. It will be seen that by this construction an auxiliaryadjustment may be given to the cutter or cutters when desired to raisesaid cutters entirely clear of the ground in transporting along theroad.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a frame embodying my invention modified toprovide for a greater number of cutters. Any suitable number of cutterscould be used and the frame modified to suit varying conditions withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. In this way a gang of plowscould be made suitable for use with a traction-engine.

It is obvious that the axle e may be made in a single piece with theside piece a, said side piece being bent so as to cross the other sidepiece, b, at right angles to the plane of IOO IIO

the cutter Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a rotary plow, thecombination, with the rotary cutters, of aframe composed of side piecesconnected together at the rear by the axle on which the cutter isjournaled, whereby the frame is completed by said axle without passingin the rear of the cutter, substantially as specified. E

2. In a rotary plow, the frame composed of the side pieces, one of whichis bent over at the front and crosses the other piece at right angles tothe cutter and projectsont to form a bearing for the front cutter, therear end of said piece being extended parallel with the plane of thecutters and connected together by a shaft which forms the axle of therear cutter, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the frame composed of side pieces connectedtogether by the axle of the cutter and the rotary cutter journaled onsaid axle, of the guidingwheel supported on an arm or bracket, said armor bracket being secured on the end of said axle, substantially as setforth.

4. The combination, with the frame con nected together at the rear by anaxle at right angles to the plane of the cutter and a rotarycutterjournaled on said axle, of a guiding- Wheel supported on the endof said axle parallel to the line of draft and at an angle to the planeof the rotary cutter, and means for adjusting said guiding-wheel,substantially as specified,

5. The combination, with the frame connected together at the rear by anaxle at right anglesto the plane of the cutter and a rotary cutterjournaled on said axle, of a guiding- Wheel parallel to the line ofdraft and at an on the same axle that supports the cutter, substantiallyas shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of May,A. D. 1884.

HIRAM MYERS.

Witnesses:

AUGUsTUs N. SUMMERs, PAUL A. STALEY.

